[Ankylosing spondylitis associated with Still's disease: should it be considered a pathophysiologic link or a simple association?] / Spondylarthrite ankylosante et maladie de Still: un lien physiopathologique ou une simple association?

Ankylosing spondylitis is a chronic inflammatory rheumatism; it is part of the group of spondyloarthrites. General signs such as fever and weight loss are of little importance. Adult Still's disease is a rare systemic condition, a diagnosis of exclusion commonly characterized by high hectic fever, rash, arthritis and various systemic manifestations. Few cases of ankylosing spondylitis associated with adult Still's disease have been described in the literature. We here report the case of a 31-year old patient followed up for ankylosing spondylitis presenting with fever which had lasted for a long time and clinico-biological signs compatible with adult Still's disease. A possible pathophysiologic link between the two diseases may be suggested, even if their simultaneous occurrence has been rarely reported in the literature.

Chronic tophaceous gout with unusual large tophi: case report.

Gout is a metabolic disease, which is characterized by acute or chronic arthritis, and deposition of monosodium urate crystals in joint, bones, soft tissues, and kidneys. But large tophi are unusual in chronic gout. We report the case of a 67-year-oldArabman presenting chronic tophaceous gout with unusual large tophi involving multiple joints: hands, feet, elbows, and knees. Laboratory workup revealed elevated serum uric acid (96 mg/l, normal: 20-74 mg/l), with normal renal function test. In untreated patients, chronic tophaceous gout may develop, which is characterized by chronic destructive polyarticular involvement and tophi. The treatment consists to decrease serum uric acid level which eventually allows the regression of tophi.

An unusual manifestation in a patient with adult-onset Still's disease: Minimal glomerular lesion.

Adult-onset Still's disease (AOSD) is a multisystem inflammatory disease of unknown etiology. It is characterized by arthritis, hectic fever, transient rash and visceral lesions such as pleuropericarditis, lymphadenopathy and hepato splenomegaly. Although kidney involvement may appear in some cases of AOSD, minimal glomerular lesion (MGL) has not been described. We describe a female patient, who presented with multisystemic manifestations, including high spiking fever, arthralgias, striking hyperferritinemia, and proteinuria. Renal biopsy showed classic MGL. A diagnosis of AOSD was made on the basis of Yamaguchi's criteria. The patient was treated with steroids, resulting in remission of the rheumatological condition closely paralleled by remission of proteinuria, thereby strongly suggesting a causative link between AOSD and MGL in this patient. Renal involvement in the AOSD was rarely reported in the literature. MGL may be a cause of unexplained proteinuria in AOSD. In this situation, renal biopsy is necessary to establish a definitive diagnosis.

Calcification of the alar ligament of the cervical spine in a patient with rheumatoid arthritis.

Calcification of the alar ligament is rare. It usually develops as a result of traumatic injury and is especially prominent in the elderly. CT scanning is the gold standard of the diagnosis. We report a case of a calcification of the transverse and alar ligament in a patient with rheumatoid arthritis.